Is Perkasa biting the hand that feeds it?

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali had declared himself a hero of the Malay community and slams his critics within Umno as 'bangsat'. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 19, 2014. 

The Umno-Perkasa relationship took on a new dynamic this week when the Malay rights group, known to be supportive of Umno and the Malay supremacy cause, turned on its "master" and even called some Umno leaders "bangsat" (despicable).

Oddly enough, Perkasa's incessant demands were met by Umno last month at the party's general assembly. This was where many Umno leaders showcased their ultra-Malay image, and where party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak decided to keep and strengthen the Sedition Act 1948, just as Perkasa had demanded.

But it appears that all this is still not enough for Perkasa which has now trained its guns on Najib's leadership, with its vice-president, the former Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, bluntly telling the prime minister to "stop lying" about the state of the country.

So confident is Perkasa that Rashid even suggested that the non-governmental organisation should change its role from being a pressure group to a full-fledged political party, saying that this was the only way to ensure the country would be "run by the right people".

Rashid and Perkasa's strident attacks of Najib are not happening in a vacuum. They follow a build-up of criticism by the retired but still influential former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is Perkasa's patron.

At the same time, Najib has been on the receiving end of more scorn, by pro-Umno bloggers, no less, to the point that the prime minister felt compelled to complain about them at the Umno assembly, using the word "bangang" (idiotic).

Najib's defender, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had suggested that Rashid was probably an unhappy civil servant who did not get "certain things" while working in the government administration. Rashid had complained about corruption in Umno while stressing that he himself had never benefited from graft.

Umno minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz had told Perkasa to look at itself before advising the prime minister. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 19, 2014.Another Umno minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, also took Perkasa to task for criticising the prime minister's hectic travel schedule, telling the group to look at themselves in the mirror before advising Najib.

Trying to make sense of the unfolding drama, political analyst Associate Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said Perkasa could be feeling threatened at being sidelined by Umno, as the party had been taking a more conservative stance in championing Malay interests.

"Perkasa says that it is supporting the government, but it also whacked Umno. Perhaps the group is worried that Umno is actually being proactive in helping the Malays, and it (Perkasa) will be sidelined.

"Umno is already seen as championing the Malays, compared to previously when the prime minster was seen as trying to maintain his moderate image," Azizuddin said, referring to Najib's promotion of moderate Malaysia abroad and earlier promised reforms.

The Universiti Utara Malaysia lecturer added that Perkasa also appeared to be trying to ensure that Umno did not lose sight of its Malay cause, and was doing so by attacking party leaders who had been openly critical of the Malay rights group.

Among the Umno leaders who have came into Perkasa's line of fire include Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Global Movement of Moderates chief executive Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, his deputy Khairul Azwan Harun and Sabah speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.

Azizuddin said Perkasa's attacks on Umno's leadership was unnecessary and could work against the political party, which it supports, by making it look weak.

"There is no need to use such tones and language as they are insulting.

"Perkasa says it supports Barisan Nasional and Umno but openly criticises them. This should not happen as it will only give the impression that all is not well.

"They (Perkasa) may think that their intentions are good, to be a pressure group so that Umno does not deviate from its original Malay struggle, but not like this," he said.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali, however, believes the group is justified in its criticism, saying that it was only aimed at certain Umno leaders whom Perkasa felt were not in line with the Malay struggle.

"The ones we called 'bangsat' are those in Umno who criticised Perkasa as being extreme, as though they did not understand Umno's own struggle.

"We were targeting them, not all the leaders in Umno," Syed Hasan said, adding that the Umno leaders they took issue with sounded more like the opposition.

"We are not attacking all of Umno, only those who sounded like the opposition.

"We want Umno to be strong, we want to cure those who are weak. So, we can't be praising them," he said.

"Perkasa is just a small organisation, can't we at least criticise them if something is not right?" Syed Hassan said, and used the Malay idiom "Siapa makan cili, dia rasa pedas", to stress that only the Umno leaders who were "guilty" would be offended by Perkasa's criticisms.

During Perkasa's 5th annual conference in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday, its head Datuk Ibrahim Ali had declared himself a hero of the Malay community and slammed his critics in Umno, calling them "bangsat" (despicable) for their failure to understand the group's agenda in defending Malay rights and Islam.

He directed the remark at Umno leaders who were known for being critical of both Perkasa and another Malay rights group, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).

He claimed that Perkasa currently has about 700,000 members and described the movement as "a beehive that produces quality honey which can be extracted to cure many ‘ailments’".

Following this spate of unprecedented attacks against Umno, it will be interesting to see where this curious relationship is headed. Will Umno succumb to Perkasa's pressures and grow even more conservative or will Perkasa succeed in replacing the former?

- TMI